ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the important changes which have taken place in our understanding of women’s psychology over the last two decades. A deeper and more careful understanding of women’s psychological development is essential if social workers are to find a more helpful response to women clients. The psychological welfare of children is inseparable from that of their mothers, and any notion of ‘child protection’ needs to take account of this. Much of the argument centres around the nature of the mother/daughter relationship, and suggests that women’s development has to be understood within a context that is psychologically and emotionally fraught and difficult.
